What is BS-6 grade fuel?

The new emission standard, BS-6 is right around the corner. This means as the BS-6 ready vehicles start to hit the road, the gas stations should be ready for them too. BS-6 vehicles do not run on the BS-4 fuel, instead, they need BS-6 grade fuel. Most of the pollution exiting the car exhaust is more in correlation with the fuel that is being used and a relatively small role is played by the engine. So let us discuss how this new type of fuel is different from the BS-4 grade fuel and how does it help in achieving lower emissions.

One of the key differences in the BS-6 fuel is that they have a much lower amount of sulphur in them. This means there will be fewer gaseous compounds of sulphur will be escaping into the atmosphere, about five times fewer for both petrol and diesel vehicles. The newer fuel will also have a different octane number. This brings up the question, what is octane number? The octane number of gasoline provides a measure of the fuel’s ability to resist auto-ignition, which can cause engine knock and damage the engine. The octane number of the BS-6 grade fuel is at par with the fuel that is Euro-6 grade. Euro standard is similar to BS emission standards and is practised in all the nations that are a part of the European Nations (EU). A better octane number means a better performance of the engine as well. Due to this relation of octane number and the performance that the engine is able to deliver with, the fuel used for racing and aviation purposes have a very high octane number as well.